Persistent demand — retail and institutional — has spurred Vanguard’s about-face. Since their January 2024 debut, spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed billions in assets. Even after outflows and a decline in Bitcoin’s price, Vanguard’s biggest rival, BlackRock, has about $70 billion in its IBIT ETF alone, down from roughly $100 billion just two months ago. Vanguard’s shift, which follows a late-September report that the firm was weighing the move, opens access for more than 50 million brokerage customers, who collectively oversee over $11 trillion, to regulated crypto wrappers.
“Cryptocurrency ETFs and mutual funds have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity,” said Andrew Kadjeski, head of brokerage and investments at Vanguard.
